Full Interview: Prime Minister Theresa May – BBC News

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Theresa May says she “is talking to colleagues” about their concerns over the Northern Ireland “backstop” ahead of a crucial vote on her EU deal.

She suggested MPs could be “given a role” in deciding whether to activate the backstop, which is designed to stop the return of a physical border.

But she told the BBC there could be no deal with the EU without it.
No 10 has said the Commons vote will go ahead on Tuesday, despite claims it could be delayed to avoid defeat.

And in another development, the European Court of Justice said it would deliver a ruling on Monday on whether the UK could unilaterally cancel Brexit by reversing Article 50 – the day before the MPs’ crunch vote.

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Mrs May told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she had not given up on winning the vote on her Brexit deal – negotiated over the past 18 months or so – despite dozens of her own MPs and all opposition parties being against it.

She said she recognised concerns about the Northern Ireland border backstop keeping the UK tied to the EU indefinitely.

And she conceded the UK would have “no unilateral right” to pull out of the backstop under her EU withdrawal agreement – but she said the UK would have a choice over whether or not to enter into it.

“The backstop is something nobody wants to go into in the first place, and we will be working to make sure that we don’t go into it,” she said.

“If we get to the point where it might be needed, we have a choice as to what we do, so we don’t even have to go into the backstop at that point.”